Minnesota is known for its harsher winters, but our summers here are perfect. If there’s one thing that I love to do in summer, it’s going to see live music outside. TC Summer Fest is an outdoor music concert held at Target Field, where the Minnesota Twins play. On Friday, The Killers were the headliner, and on Saturday, Imagine Dragons were playing. My husband went to both concerts, while I only went tosee Imagine Dragons. I don’t know every Imagine Dragonssong, and I wouldn’t say I’m their biggest fan, but they put on a great show.
The fun part about TC Summer Fest was that there was live music playing all day. While many chose to show up for Imagine Dragonsonly, there were other acts going on throughout the day. One of our friends was looking forward to seeing Talk, whom I knew nothing about. If I had to gauge my favorite act (besides Imagine Dragons), I think it would have to be Chelsea Cutler. I knew nothing about her before her act, but I felt she was vibing with the crowd.
Imagine Dragons took the stage at 9:40 PM-ish. I completely forgot how many songs Imagine Dragonshas. They played most of their well-known songs, with a few songs I had never heard of before. The crowd was energized, and looking around the stadium, people held up their phones with their flashlights on. It was cool to see a sea of white light during the set.
It’s funny, I didn’t take that many pictures throughout the concert. I know a few people nearby us would record the concert, but I tend not to do that. I would rather enjoy the concert in real-time, and I find that when I record it, I don’t actually end up re-watching it. Plus, the audio is nowhere near as good as being at the venue, so what’s the point?
I haven’t been to a concert in a while, so I was reminded of how much I enjoy being around friends and listening to good music.
I started watching The Umbrella Academy earlier this year, and it quickly became one of my favorite shows. As a comic book reader, it’s been a blast seeing more stories being adapted into shows or films. I personally have never heard of The Umbrella Academy before watching the show. I found the first volume at a comic book store and decided to give it a shot. This is an example instance in which I think the show is better than the source material.
The Umbrella Academy focuses on this extraordinary event where forty-seven children are born on the exact same day, even though the women showed no previous signs of pregnancy. Reginald Hargreeves adopts seven of these children and names them “The Umbrella Academy.” The children show signs of having powers, with Vanya being the odd one out. Reginald harps on her that she isn’t special and has no abilities. As the children grow up, they resent Reginald for bringing them together, and they go their separate ways. The group is reunited when Reginald passes away. One of the children, codenamed Number Five, travels through time and discovers an apocalypse that will bring the world to an end. He tries to rally the other Umbrella Academy members into helping to prevent this apocalypse.
As mentioned, this is one of the few times where I feel the show is better than the source. The graphic novel, in many ways, feels messy. Most of the children don’t stand out from each other. Watching the show helped fill the gaps that the graphic novel had, which I wasn’t expecting. I think the graphic novel focuses heavily on action and showcasing the children’s powers, while the show builds on how the powers affected them individually, which I think was more interesting to watch.
I will say that I like the art and the alternate covers. I think it fits into the aesthetic that Gerard Way was going for when he wrote the story. I did like the story, but I wish it had been longer, so each child in The Umbrella Academy had their time to shine, and that didn’t happen.
I don’t have any regrets about reading The Umbrella Academy, as I’m a big fan of the show. I plan on reading the whole series just to say that I read them; however, I think the series can be skipped as the show does an excellent job summarizing the crucial plot points. I rated The Umbrella Academy five stars based on my love for the show, but I think, as a standalone, I would rate The Umbrella Academy three and a half stars on Goodreads.
I had this post in my drafts for a while. Since January 2022, I have been playing in a semi-weekly campaign at Badwolf Adventure Studios. During that time, I grew attached to my character, Levenia, the half-elf blood hunter. While I have played TTRPGs, I feel like this was a new experience for me. I never reached a point where I felt a connection to the character that I was playing. Creating and crafting Levenia, I really liked playing as her. She’s intelligent, able to hold her own in combat, and at times, has been in peril where I genuinely wasn’t sure how she was going to survive. Last month, our group began the tumultuous battle against Strahd, and I wanted to share how the battle went.
Our group began the session by defeating Rahadin, Strahd’s right-hand guard. Rahadin is an evil character, arguably more evil than Strahd, since Rahadin helped Strahd slaughter the other female dusk elves. It was made aware to our group that Strahd may have the capability of bringing Rahadin back to life, so the situation became a “now or never” to take on Strahd once and for all.
Our group used our knowledge of Ravenloft to make a decision to travel to the top of one of the towers in Ravenloft. Sure enough, Strahd was there, and our battle began. As a side note, my hands were so sweaty, I don’t think I have ever been more nervous to play a session of Dungeons & Dragons before. Our cleric used the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind, which is extremely powerful. The holy symbol can create sunlight for ten minutes, which is a must-have for taking on a vampire. Strahd quickly became annoyed and ripped the amulet out of our cleric’s hands and threw it down the stairs. Rude. I came in with the Sunsword, which is the closest thing to a lightsaber in Barovia. Levenia kept stabbing Strahd, which worked great since the Sunsword deals extra damage to undead creatures. Strahd, being super annoyed, ripped the Sunsword out of my hand as well.
Strahd quickly disappeared and began climbing higher up the tower. Our group raced after him. As we did, we noticed that we were at the top of the tower. Behind Strahd was this massive bird called “The Roc of Mount Ghakis”. Rocs are massive birds in Dungeons & Dragons and can be a real threat, especially since we are on top of a tower and could be knocked off at any point. Our cleric pulled a quick move by utilizing Divine Intervention. Divine Intervention is an action in which our cleric could call upon The Raven Queen (or another deity) to act in a time of need. Having a gigantic bird acting as a servant to a vampire feels like it fits this definition. Our DM rolled for us, and it worked!! The Raven Queen appeared and pulled the Roc into a portal. Our group cheered because we did not think it would work, and having to fight off an additional creature would have made this battle much more difficult.
After seeing The Raven Queen help, we returned to Strahd. Strahd did throw one of our allies off the tower, which sucked since she’s a Barbarian / Rogue. However, we kept picking off Strahd, and Levenia got the killing blow. I couldn’t believe that I was the one to take down Strahd. It was so satisfying. With Strahd’s demise, Strahd turned into mist and flew towards his coffin. If Strahd reached his coffin before we did, Strahd could be revived. It was one of those “oh shit” moments as our group ran to try and beat Strahd to his coffin. As our group approached, we realized that one of the NPCs we brought with us, Rudolph Van Richton, had permanently sealed Strahd’s coffin. Our DM revealed that since we brought Rudolph with us, he helped ensure that Strahd couldn’t be brought back to life, meaning Strahd has officially been defeated. After defeating Strahd, we did have to fight a lich, but that’s a story for a different time.
It’s bittersweet to say that Curse of Strahd is over. I have been enamored by the story, seeing my character evolve, and seeing our group work together. Since finishing Curse of Strahd, I have had a month off from playing Dungeons & Dragons, which I think was needed. It helped solidify the memories of the final battle and allowed for some time off. I am starting a new campaign this week, so I will share more about that once I know what character I will be playing and what the world will be like. I’m thankful to have discovered Badwolf Adventure Studios,and I’m looking forward to playing more Dungeons & Dragons in the future.
As I was writing my recap post aboutCONvergence, I realized something. It’s been ten years since I started attending conventions. I second-guessed myself because ten years feels like a long time ago, but it’s true. I went to CONvergencefor the first time in 2013. I initially found out about CONvergencein 2012 when my friend’s mom was planning to attend. My friend and I decided we wanted to attend the following year. The rest is history. I wanted to share a few photos, along with sharing what I hope for in the future.
I remember being mesmerized by all the people in cosplay. It was so fun to walk around and take photos with other cosplayers. I talked with so many different people at my first con, and cosplay, in some ways, acted as a way to help start a conversation without feeling the intimidation of talking to someone I didn’t know.
Besides cosplaying as Mario, I also put together a quick Lara Croft cosplay. This felt on point since the Tomb Raider game came out that year. As I was walking around CONvergence, I saw another Lara Croft cosplayer, and I was really excited. Let’s be real, this cosplayer did a much better job than I did in cosplaying Lara Croft. It was a fun memory to see someone else cosplaying the exact same character, but in a completely different way.
When I first started attending CONvergence, the Twin Cities Ghostbusters used to always make an appearance. They usually had a party room at CONvergence,along with bringing their car out in the parking lot. I haven’t seen them at CONvergencein a while, but I hope they come back soon.
It’s funny looking at old photos. My first thought is how young I look! The other thing that I think about is where my mindset was at this time of my life. I had so much to learn, whether that be about life in general or how I viewed myself. I’m grateful for all of the experiences I have had thus far and how I have grown as a person.
Looking into the future, I’m fully planning on cosplaying throughout the next ten years. I want to try colored contacts or body paint. Besides cosplay, there are a few conventions that I would like to attend, including Emerald City Comic Con, New York Comic Con, and Dragon Con. My husband and I have also begun having conversations about starting a family, and I would love to bring my kids to conventions. Here’s to ten more years of cosplay and conventions!
After being out of town for the 4th of July and attending a convention, I took a writing break. In a turn of events, I could attend CONvergence this year. For those who are new to Bizarre Brunette, CONvergencewas the first convention I went to. CONvergencewill always have a special place in my heart as being my first con, but it also introduced me to cosplay, conventions, and geek culture in general. I wanted to share a little recap about CONvergence,along with what it was like to be back post-COVID.
CONvergencewas so fun! This year, I tabled at the Twin Cities Geek booth. I was able to connect with so many different people who came up to talk to me. I saw so many cosplayers walking by. One of the biggest things at CONvergenceis ribbons which can be attached to your badge. I received so many ribbons from con-goers, I might have set a personal record.
Besides sitting at the Twin Cities Geek booth, I also went to the party rooms. Party rooms are hotel rooms that have been turned into themed rooms. The hotel rooms often serve alcoholic beverages that are in line with the party room. The drinks are free, but it’s encouraged to tip the party room as the organizers who throw the party pay for all the booze, mixers, and set-up. One party room we went to was Doctor Who-themed. There was a “Tears of the Tardis” challenge to take a really sour shot. If you completed the challenge, you could earn a ribbon for your badge. I am all for adding ribbons to my badge, so I did partake. The shot was very sour, but it was worth it for the ribbon.
CONvergencewas slightly different than the other times I have attended in the past. This was the first time attending since the pandemic. It felt like nothing had changed, which is a good thing. The other difference was that most of my friends that I used to go with weren’t there this year. Some friends moved away, and other friends simply couldn’t make it. I was a little nervous about finding and meeting new people. Fortunately, I ended up meeting quite a few new people, and now I feel like I have a good group of people to meet up with and talk to next year.
Reflecting back on this past weekend, I realize how happy I am to have found a place within the convention scene. I feel at home, and like I can be myself. I’m looking forward to CONvergencenext year.
To start off 2023, I finished Vox Machina, Critical Role’s first campaign. It was a bittersweet moment since it took me two years to watch every single episode. I felt I needed a solid break from Critical Role, so I could absorb the ending of Vox Machina. I watched a few of the one-shots and focused on watching other TV shows I fell behind on. I decided that I was finally ready to start on The Mighty Nein, which is Critical Role’s second campaign. I watched the first episode a few days ago and wanted to share some first impressions of the show.
As far as the characters, I think the two characters that I felt drawn to right away were Fjord (played by Travis Willingham) and Yasha (played by Ashley Johnson). Fjord has this cowboy persona with the voice that Travis chose for the character. Fjord seems to be one of the more intelligent characters within the group, and it’s fun to see Travis play someone vastly different from Grog. With Yasha, I liked how she is the bodyguard of sorts, and she has these one-liners that are delivered with no enthusiasm, which makes the whole group laugh. Also, I like how Yasha and Beau start flirting right away. I’m curious to see if that develops into something later.
The first episode primarily took place at a circus when someone from the audience turned into a zombie-like creature. I like how there’s a certain level of darkness that’s been introduced right away. Vox Machina felt like a group of adventurers goofing off in a tavern, while The Mighty Nein might have more gothic undertones, which is usually what I gravitate towards.
After finishing episode #1, I’m definitely invested in the campaign. Out of curiosity, I did a quick search to see how many hours the The Mighty Nein campaign is. It’s only 550 hours, no big deal. Now, I have only 547 hours of content to watch. Wish me luck!
I’m unsure how often I have referenced Mind’s Eye Comics, but it won’t be the last. Mind’s Eyehas become my local comic book store, and I try to stop in regularly. For June, my company does a Juneteenth reimbursement where there’s a $100 reimbursement if money is spent at a black-owned business. It just so happens that Mind’s Eye Comicsis a black-owned business in the Twin Cities. To be fair, I’m happy to spend $100 at Mind’s Eye Comicsany day of the week, but now I have another reason to stop in. I wanted to share my haul as I ended up leaving with much more than I thought I would.
I’m in a graphic novel kick as of late. I’m not sure why, but I just haven’t been buying as many single issues. The first graphic novel I bought is Quincredible: Volume #1Quest To Be The Best by Barnes, Espiritu, and Fitzpatrick. Quincredible follows Quinton West, who gains the power of invulnerability. Quin struggles with his powers, which leads him to be mentored by Glow, another superhero. I don’t know much more than that, but I’m looking forward to reading this.
The second graphic novel I bought is Box by Wirbeleit & Heidschotter. Box is about a young boy who finds a box and decides to use it for his adventures, except the box starts talking. Box reminded me of the Calvin & Hobbes graphic novels I read as a kid. I like how this will be more of a light-hearted read.
The third graphic novel I bought was The Mall by Handfield, Haick III, Loureiro, Dijio, and Hopkins. The Mall follows a group of teenagers in the 1980s who fit the stereotypes of teenagers. They find out that they are connected to a mafia boss who was recently killed. The mafia boss left each teenager a store in the mall, which was an all-in-one front for mafia boss activity. In the Goodreads description, it says that this is a “Breakfast Club meets Goodfellas”.
The fourth graphic novel I bought was Cats Girlfriends and Cat Friends by Brrémaud and Antista. Cats, Girlfriends and Cat Friends is a series of French graphic novels that tell the stories of friends and their cats. This seems like it will be a cute cat story, and I’m here for it.
The fifth graphic novel is Batgirl and the Birds of Prey Source Code by J Benson, S Benson, Antonio, and Roe. I read the first volume several years ago, and it seemed like a good opportunity to return to the series. I will probably re-read the first volume right before reading volume #2, so I can be fresh in the story.
The final novel is Pop Culture Pioneers: The Women Who Transformed Fandom in Film, Television, Comics, and More by Cher Martinetti. This might not count as a graphic novel, but I thought this would be an interesting book to add to my collection. It’s a non-fiction book that tells various stories from women in geek culture. I’m looking forward to reading this.
Besides graphic novels, I bought the Polka-Dot Man Funko Pop from The Suicide Squad. I’m looking for more collectibles to place on my desk at work and figured Polka-Dot Man would be a fun addition. I also bought a Loki wallet and a Hercules keychain to add to my keyring.
I love having a lot to read. This haul should keep me busy for a while.
Last weekend was Twin Cities Pride here in Minneapolis. If I’m in town, I always try to make a point to go to Pride for a portion of the festivities. As a cis, white woman, I intend to show my support and stand in solidarity with others. This year, I helped staff the Geek Partnership Society booth, which meant talking to various people about Twin Cities Geek, conventions, and other nerd-related topics. A running quote that we would say is “This is the nerd side of Pride”.
I didn’t end up taking that many photos of Pride since I was talking to people who came to visit the booth. It was nice seeing people being able to exist as themselves.
As a final note, I wanted to share some of my favorite non-profits & charities that help support LGBTQIA+ people. The first non-profit that I give to the most is The Trevor Project. The Trevor Project is focused on younger LGBTQIA+ folks and providing them with resources. The second non-profit is the ACLU. The ACLU is focused on all human rights, and a lot of that fight is for LGBTQIA+ rights. These are the two non-profits I will continuously donate to.
I don’t normally follow big video game events such as E3or Xbox Games Showcase. I usually find out about some of the gaming news weeks after the event, and that’s always worked for me. One of my favorite Star Wars content creators posted about Star Wars Outlaws and how the trailer was released at theXbox Games Showcase this year. I watched the trailer, and honestly, I’m excited. I’m curious how this game will be and when it will be released.
Star Wars Outlaws takes place between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Kay Vess is on her own and resorts to cheating in Sabacc to make ends meet. With her companion, Nix, they end up escaping a brawl at the tavern they’re at and running from the scene. Kay is approached by Jaylen, an acquaintance from Kay’s past, who offers her a way out of the situation she’s in. In the rest of the trailer, Kay is shown exploring different planets with Nix by her side.
As far as Star Wars is concerned, I think the more Star Wars stuff that exists, the better! I’m positive in that way. I think it’s neat to see a female protagonist in a Star Wars game. Without knowing much about Kay, I like her as a character. Her look feels rugged, yet functional. I couldn’t help thinking how she could be a fun character to cosplay as. I’m a sucker for a good companion, and Nix is adorable.
There were some critiques from fans towards Star Wars Outlaws. This includes having another Star Wars game without custom character creation. I feel like that critique is fair. Most Star Wars fans want to see themselves in the galaxy. I think most fans were hoping for a Knights of the Old Republic / Star Wars open-world RPG, and that would be cool. There was some backlash I read around male gamers not wanting to play as a female character. This doesn’t surprise me, although it’s such an odd take. I have had to play as male characters for a long time, and I didn’t mind. Plus, there are so many badass female video game characters (Jill Valentine from Resident Evil, Lara Croft, Ellie from The Last of Us), so why is Kay Vess different from them?
I’m looking forward to Star Wars Outlaws! I think it has the potential to be a fun Star Wars game. Have you watched the newest Star Wars Outlaws trailer? Let me know what you think in the comments!
The first Grady Hendrix book I read was The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires, and I loved it. I don’t read much horror, but it’s nice to have another go-to author besides Stephen King. I had The Final Girl Support Group on my TBR for a while, as I tend to gravitate toward slasher films if I ever do watch horror movies. I liked The Final Girl Support Group, although I think this book would be much better as a movie.
Lynette Tarkington is a final girl. She survived a horrific massacre of her family, and as such, her trauma leaks into her routine. She has intense security measures in her apartment, carries a weapon, and takes several different bus routes in case she’s followed. Lynette has been attending a Final Girl Support Group for decades, led by successful psychotherapist, Dr. Carol Elliott. As the group’s session comes to an end, Lynette is alerted to the fact that Adrienne, another Final Girl in their group, was murdered. As the day progresses, each Final Girl is targeted, including Lynette. Lynette has to go off the grid to figure out who’s targeting the Final Girls.
The Final Girl Support Group is a book that I couldn’t put down. My husband had invited a friend over for a BBQ at our place, and I hung back in our room to finish this book. I couldn’t help it! The book, from start to finish, was a page-turner. I wanted to know who was targeting the Final Girls. Additionally, the way the book was written, there are clearly secrets that Lynette didn’t share with the reader, and I wanted to know what they were.
As far as the characters, I liked Lynette and how she developed throughout the book. Lynette’s arguably the Final Girl whose trauma is exhibited the most. Granted, Lynette’s the main character, and there isn’t as much of a preview into the other Final Girls and how they live their lives. After the climactic showdown, Lynette distances herself from someone in her past, moves into a new place, and seeks help through physical therapy and leading the new Final Girl Support group. It’s nice to see her progress and try to live her life.
As a fan of slasher films, there are a lot of throwbacks to this genre of horror. Some of the names of the Final Girls are names of the actresses who played the roles in those films. Additionally, there’s a mention of a film series called Stab,which retells Julie’s Final Girl story. Stab is also a film franchise that’s mentioned in the Scream films. In one of the section breaks, there’s an interview transcript featuring two cops interviewing one of the Final Girls. The cops are Dwight Riley and Judy Hicks, who are characters in Scream 4 specifically. While I think anyone can enjoy reading The Final Girl Support Group, it’s more fun knowing the references from these films.
I mentioned earlier how I think The Final Girl Support Group would be better as a film than a book. The book’s plot is a little messy and convenient. Without spoilers, there’s a moment where Lynette starts to put together the pieces of who might be responsible. I thought the way this came together was a little odd to me. Additionally, there’s another moment where Lynette has a run-in with someone from her past. The scene itself felt a little over-the-top when really it didn’t need to be that way. For a book, it was a bit much, but for a movie, I think this would be an entertaining scene.
The Final Girl Support Group was an intense, page-turner that helped me break out of my reading slump. I can see where this book might not be for everyone, but I liked it nonetheless. I rated The Final Girl Support Group four stars on Goodreads.
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